An innovative approach to education and health care

The Woods Bagot design team, Sarah Ball, Bruno Mendes and Jo Dane worked in close collaboration with the inter-professional team at Victoria University to develop Australia’s first student-led clinic.

The aim of the design is to provide a unique experience for clients and to be at the forefront of service. The clinic includes ‘Inter-professional pods’ (IP), where a team of health experts on one side of the pod can watch, and review the lead member with the client on the other side of the pod via telepresence. The client will not feel overwhelmed during assessment with a full team of professionals, yet the pod design will ensure the value of multiple team members providing specialist advice, helping to shape the overall treatment plan.

In addition to the IP, the clinic will comprise a range of spaces, including a teaching kitchen for healthy food preparation and an active living laboratory where clients will be assisted in rehabilitation.

Principal and Design Leader Bruno Mendes described the inspiration for the design: “From colourful tonal landscape of the Werribee farms to the stunning native landscape of the Werribee Gorge, the design response for the building was never short of rich contextual references. It is these references that conditioned the form of the building and its immediate landscape, creating a visual amenity and release for the users.”

The new health clinic will be at the leading edge of state-of-the-art telepresence technology in order to enable the inter-professional communication process. The design aims not only to reflect the unique health service offering, but to provide a sense of community beyond the traditional health facility.